With the huge time difference meaning that most games are happening live in the middle of the night back in America, it's been hard to get into the Tokyo Olympics however leave it to the USWNT to make it way more interesting and exciting. This morning (our time), they outlasted the Netherlands 4-2 in penalty kicks to reach the Olympic semifinals for the sixth time in their last seven chances. It sounds odd saying it since she allowed two goals in regulation but the USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was the player of the match as she stopped what would have been a go-ahead penalty kick late in regulation then she topped that with two more saves in the shootout. Midfielder Samantha Mewis-my Massachusetts Olympic hero-and forward Lynn Williams each had a goal and an assist for the U.S. who advance to face Canada on Monday (4 am, USA Network) in the semifinals.
It's been a little over two years since these same countries faced off in the 2019 World Cup Final which you'll remember was captured 2-0 by the U.S. in Lyon, France. The Netherlands must be wondering what they have to do to beat the U.S. (who improved to 8-1-1 all-time against the Dutch as this match was recorded as a tie) who have looked vulnerable in this tournament with a shocking 3-0 loss to Sweden in the opener along with a scoreless draw with Australia to close out the group stage. If we know anything about this team though, they typically perform their best when the stakes are the highest. The Netherlands led 1-0 in the 18th minute as their excellent forward Vivianne Miedema-the leading goal-scorer in these Olympic Games-made the Americans pay for a failed clearance out of the box. It didn't take long for the U.S. to respond as Williams served a low cross that Mewis dove to head into the net for his first career Olympic goal in the 28th minute.
Things started rolling for the U.S. as they took a 2-1 lead just three minutes later when Mewis won a header in the box following a U.S. corner and Williams was able to volley in her first Olympic goal as well. The USWNT took that 2-1 lead into halftime but the Dutch (specifically Miedema) would not go home quietly as she tied it in 54th minute with a long-range blast from beyond the arc for her 10th goal of the tournament which is an amazing number in only four matches. U.S. defender Kelly O'Hara almost made a fatal mistake as her harsh foul in the box led to a penalty kick for the Netherlands in the 80th minute that would have put them ahead 3-2. Luckily, Naeher was up to the task to rescue her teammate and save the shot by another lethal Dutch forward Lieke Martens.
It is hard to explain why but the U.S. has had a crazy amount of goals called back (nine total including four today!) due to being called offside in these Olympics. There is VAR and I'm sure the American coaches have been hammering this point over and over but ultimately it's up to the players to adjust to it and find ways not to have that happen so often. To make them feel better, the Netherlands had a header goal called offside in the first period of extra time while American forwards Christen Press and Alex Morgan (who oddly enough both came off the bench in the second half) each had a goal called back for the same reason in the second period of extra time. Good grief, enough of that!
Naeher immediately made a statement in the shootout since the Netherlands went first and she dove to her right to save Miedema's shot. All four U.S. shooters (Rose Lavelle, Morgan, Press and Megan Rapinoe) scored and after Naeher made another huge stop on Aniek Nouwen, Rapinoe was fittingly there to blast home the game-winner. The USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski improved to 23-1-3 in his first 27 matches in charge and I'm not saying it would have (or should have) happened but if his team had lost this game, there would have been serious discussions about him getting fired after the USWNT went out in the quarterfinals in the Olympics (which happened to the last head coach Jill Ellis in 2016 vs. Sweden in PKs) for the second time in a row. Instead, they will be favored to beat Canada (remember their epic 4-3 semifinal win vs. the Canadians in the 2012 Olympics?) and get to the Final where they would meet either Sweden or Australia.
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